Culinary & Tourism: A Gateway To Cultural Exploration

Kaustubh Mehta May 17, 2024

Food and tourism are interconnected and hence, compliment, each other in diverse ways

Sameer Malkani set the tone of a recent panel discussion by saying that culinary exploration transcends beyond consumption. Masterchef Shipra Khanna, TV Presenter, Author & Content Creator said that in fusion food, we need to put confusion away from fusion. “And for that we need to have the right mix of things. Cooking a traditional dish with modern technique is how you keep it alive. It really works with foreign palate because they are not used to eating a lot of spices. A unique Himachali dish called Sepuvadi has become very popular. I was at a food festival in Europe which was for ambassadors. They were taken aback by this dish called Sepuvadi. This is how we keep tradition and authenticity alive,” said Khanna.

Appreciating our roots

Chef Suvir Saran, Culinary Director, Bastian Hospitality Group, Owner, American Masala & an Author highlighted the need for Indians to celebrate the foods of the past. He said that, “In America, the food I was cooking was buffet style food. When I opened my restaurant in 2004, I started 7 and 11 course menus. I was mimicking the homes of India. I got to travel and taste Indian delicacies. My dishes were a fusion of travel and food. I made Indian dishes healthier. I was chasing home cooked food of India. The everyday food cooked by Indian mothers has helped me grow. Indian food is sustainable and smart. We are ashamed of Bharwa karela and fond of eating paneer makhni. We have forgotten our old food. I brought it back to United States. We should celebrate the foods of our past and we will certainly become healthier.”

Kunal Vijayakar, YouTuber, Food Writer, TV Personality & Co Founder, Khaane Mein Kya Hai spoke about the advantages and disadvantages of digital media. He said, “We are quite aware of the positives and the negatives. It is an extremely useful tool to propagate real and accurate information. Everything that we think is healthy, might actually not be healthy. So digital media can help debunk all this. We need to channelise credibility and influence people in the right way.”

The fun part of diverse recipes

Chef Saransh Goila, Co-founder, Goila Butter Chicken & Author talked about the scaling up of restaurant business wherein every day is a new day of learning. “Procurement of vegetables and meat has to be looked into seriously. We have different vendors in all areas. It makes our job harder as we have to find similar tomatoes to ensure consistency in taste,” Goila stated.

Sabrina Suri, Celebrity Chef talked about using local and seasonal produce in dishes and menus. “The greatest advantage of using local produce is that it gives a lot of freshness to the menu. As, when we use frozen or non-seasonal food, it does not taste that fresh. I try to incorporate certain fruits and vegetables in the menu which makes the recipes shine. One of the global dishes for my client is to use mango, watermelon and ice apple in salads during the summer season. In winter, I use oranges, guavas and strawberries,” Suri signed off.